What Are Antecedents in Our Writing?

What do you think when you read the following paragraph?

Jameson stood far back in the alley. Jameson lit Jameson’s cigarette and drew on the cigarette, making the cigarette crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of Jameson’s face.

You see a scene is developing. As it is, you may begin to notice the language while you’re moving through it, possibly because repetition is distracting you.

Now consider this this passage:

He needs to adjust his behavior. At first he might have been cute, but now he’s just irritating them. They might want to avoid him. If they avoid him, they may also avoid us.

Is this paragraph describing an impulsive man, or could it also depict an unrefined male dog? Without a clear identifying reference, we don’t really know.

What Are Antecedents?

All pronouns must have a clear, identifiable antecedent, which is the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun replaces or refers back to. This makes antecedents and pronouns bound to each other.

We call the noun or noun phrase an antecedent because it usually comes before the pronoun (the prefix ante- comes from the Latin word for before or in front of).

That ’86 Chevy [antecedent] is about to lose its [pronoun] muffler.

Are you even going to play the guitars [antecedent] before you buy them [pronoun]?

Occasionally, the antecedent will appear after the pronoun. When it does, we would more technically refer to it as a postcedent (post- = after):

For his final film, the renowned director Zhi Han chose a new script by the famous screenwriter Mason McReady.

The identifying noun (Zhi Han) comes after the pronoun (his), but the reference is still clear.

Antecedents: Why We Need Them

Our communication would fast become monotonous, redundant, and vague if we did not have antecedents and pronouns working together.

Antecedents without pronouns: Jameson stood far back in the alley. Jameson lit Jameson’s cigarette and drew on the cigarette, making the cigarette crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of Jameson’s face.

Antecedents with pronouns: Jameson stood far back in the alley. He lit his cigarette and drew on it, making it crackle and glow in the dark, lighting part of his face.

The use of antecedents with pronouns (Jameson, he, his; cigarette, it) allows us to avoid droning and distracting repetition while reducing content space. Note too that antecedents should be close enough to their pronouns for their connections to be clear.

Let’s look at another example from the opposite view.

Pronouns without antecedents: He needs to adjust his behavior. At first he might have been cute, but now he’s just irritating them. They might want to avoid him. If they avoid him, they may also avoid us.

Pronouns with antecedents: Your brother needs to adjust his behavior. At first he might have been cute, but now he‘s just irritating people. They might want to avoid him. If they avoid him, they may also avoid us.

Having clear antecedents (your brother, people) for the pronouns lets us infer we’re considering a person and not an unruly pet. We also understand the scope of the reference to they (people in general).

Antecedents: Number and Gender

Maintaining the correct number and gender of antecedent-pronoun relationships is central to clear, effective writing.

How would you interpret this sentence?

All of the students are encouraged to buy her tickets before the game.

We have a collective noun (all) with a plural connotation (students) followed by a singular female possessive pronoun (her). Are all of the students female? Or is there only one individual—a female—selling tickets, and every student is buying from her?

Going by the information we have, a clear antecedent-pronoun connection would be:

All [collective-noun antecedent] of the students [object indicating plural antecedent collective noun] are encouraged to purchase their [plural pronoun for plural antecedent] tickets before the game.

When a collective noun has a singular connotation, it operates as a singular antecedent with a singular pronoun.

Each of the girls’ soccer champions will receive her [not their] medal at the ceremony.

Two or more antecedents joined by and are referred to by a plural pronoun.

Jameson and Martin made their secret business exchange by cover of night.

Two or more singular antecedents joined by or or nor are referred to by a singular pronoun.

Either Jameson or Martin has outlined his conditions for the transaction.

Neither Jameson nor Martin has outlined his conditions for the transaction.

If one of two antecedents joined by or or nor is singular and one is plural, the pronoun usually agrees with the nearer antecedent.

Either Jameson or his silent partners have outlined their conditions for the transaction.

One exception in contemporary writing is the occasional use of their for a singular antecedent, particularly if the antecedent’s gender is not certain or known or is preferred to be unspecified. The writer also may wish to avoid cumbersome phrasing such as his or her.

Another coworker will lend me their stapler. (The coworker is not yet identified.)

Which of the following treatments would you prefer when writing today?

Each athlete should sign his or her participation agreement before training begins.

Each athlete should sign their participation agreement before training begins.

Marketing Content 2026: A Reckoning

We may not always be able to predict our next auto repair, but we can always bet the house that marketing and communication will evolve, requiring new skills, knowledge and approaches.

A marketing writer since the 1990s, The Eloquent Arrow has observed the rolling landscapes of message format and delivery as they’ve shifted contours to connect. Some people will remember the dominance of direct-mail and print marketing; others will look up from their smartphones or iPhones with a raised eyebrow.

If technology has been ushering the evolution of marketing content, AI and algorithms now have the heaviest feet on the pedals, even replacing content once created only by human thoughts and typing hands.

AI and search engines are in our room. They chose their seats and won’t be going anywhere. But as we know, change is opportunity. Remember too that AI and algorithms are human constructs: They start with what we inform them.

When we view technology as passenger instead of opponent, we can infuse our content with what it offers to teach and direct us within proper limitations.

The following are five tenets we can follow as we use and collaborate with available tools for keeping content distinctive.

1. Information Gain & Content Ownership

As we move further into the late 2020s, the expectations for online content will remain driven by what is referred to as information gain.

Information gain centers on providing new data or insight that improves users’ understanding of content. Content cannot be generic or simply reheated. Today’s AI and search engines can recognize and flag stale or repetitive points from the past.

The engines are sophisticated in distinguishing original content with substance from that which merely masks its second-rate nature with touch-ups. What we write and distribute must be credible, well-researched and presented with a voice of our own.

This content distinction also includes detection by the engines if they intuit that text borrows too much from AI assistance. The engines are increasingly apt at spotting cut-and-paste copy from tools such as ChatGPT.

We can use AI to help fill small content gaps or to source or inform a data-reliant point we present, but we cannot lean on it to do our primary lifting. Our content will be better embraced, indexed and ranked if we properly measure our use of AI to support it.

2. Short-Form Video as Content Support

Short videos on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram now permeate the attention economy. Anyone who browses a media platform or app can often be presented with dozens if not hundreds of short-video messages daily.

While short videos are commanding greater attention, they do not render text-based content obsolete. Targeted, well-written content and short-form video can often be strategic complements.

To reinforce information gain for the audience, we will aim to create short videos that visually express or support a data point our written content is making. A video might also demonstrate what our content discusses.

When paired with proper focus and intent, short videos and written content can help convert casual scrollers into active audience members who return to us because they recognize we offer original insight of value to them.

3. Authenticity & Authority

Today’s online content is being measured according to how it establishes the originator’s experience, expertise, subject authority, trustworthiness and expression of principles.

The audience wants to feel they’re engaging our content because it balances credibility and insight with a personality they know and like.

In addition to writing with style and relevance, we can further substantiate content with elements such as author bios, personal anecdotes, real-world case studies and distinctive brand or personal narratives.

We can also refer or link to reputable sources where they apply.

4. Data-Driven Tools & Insights

Advanced analytics tools such as Google Analytics are now standard. With machine learning fully integrated into content and communication, such platforms eclipse mere data supply by providing predictive insights and strategic recommendations.

Because of these tools, we can pursue and identify our own approaches to content value and information gain. Beyond interpreting keyword difficulty or search volume, we can use available data to establish patterns, predict market movements and trends, and offer fresh context that readers may have not yet considered.

By translating raw numbers into meaningful observations, we can deliver real information gain that distinguishes our content even where it competes with countless alternatives.

5. Page Experience & Integrated Conversions

Easy, comfortable user experiences are vital in the age of infinite content. Technical SEO and UX optimizations for content are now mandatory if we wish to be followed and read.

Elements such as embedded forms and customer relationship management (CRM) programs can now help drive conversions without distracting or frustrating an audience.

They can intersect with information gain as well. A content page that’s simple to navigate and rich in structured data can swiftly supply the details users need, enhancing their perception of our content’s value to them.

When readers of our content discover what they’re seeking with ease or even what they might not have expected, they will be more incentivized to return to it with trust in our brand or personal voice.

a call to be resolute writers

Information in the past might circulate for years and still be held as prevailing wisdom or knowledge. Those days now recede at warp speed. Current content-tracking tech tools are requiring us to be earnest and honest in moving content value forward.

Writing for information gain, authenticity and accountability; making optimal use of analytical tools; and striving for ease of content reading and locating: With these in our quiver, we can do more than hit the bulls-eye of targeted marketing and communication. We can also attach AI and algorithms to our arrows as they fly.

Writing Under the Watch of Technology

“Content is king.”

Microsoft founder Bill Gates first said it in 1996, and you may have heard it often as you’ve continued on your career path.

Even as videos and podcasts increasingly command our attention, content remains king in any domain. Content still:

steers all we do online, whether it be informing an audience, promoting a product or service, or growing our reach through the search engines.
reinforces our brand as credible, knowledgeable and connected to a want or a need.
drives the main points of our digital contact (e.g. website, email, social media); striking visuals still need content that compels.

Today, however, King Content must be even more strategic and focused according to its context and platform in a vast, expanding cyberworld. We now write to algorithms, search engines and AI while we’re looking to connect with other people within a content infinity.

Satisfying technology’s demands of our content while still writing like humans to other humans is a taller order, but it’s also one we can achieve. Principles of good writing will remain regardless of where the digital rocket might take us.

The following are ways we can ensure our writing stays strong and relevant as we balance communication and technology.

Know your result. Each time you prepare to post content, understand the central “why” behind it. Why is the content meaningful, and why will your audience care?

Break up text. Long, thick paragraphs stress the mind even before it decides to engage any content. They often repel readers from the writing. Use short paragraphs and callouts or indentations to convey key points.

Keep sentences crisp. Good writing balances longer and shorter sentences. An average sentence length should be around 12-15 words most of the time. If you can make it even fewer without losing information or substance, that’s all the better.

Write with verifiable substance. Bad or incomplete information will run rampant where content is not properly gathered and vetted. Writing with earnest, accurate sourcing and research will deepen your appeal and credibility with both your audience and the search engines.

Writing for Information Gain

If you’re the expert behind a message, establish how and why you are a worthy resource. If you’re sharing information from beyond your purview, recognize who and what can be trusted enough for you to put your name by it. Keep records of your sources and citations and include them with your posted content when it’s called for.

Beyond making you a person or business that engenders trust, reinforcing your legitimacy will keep you in step with today’s concept of “information gain.” Engines such as Google and ChatGPT now apply greater methods to measure the value our content adds to the web.

In satisfying technology’s idea of information gain, we cannot simply repurpose or repackage old content or content that is already established by others online. To be noticed and read, our content must strive to be newly informative and fresh in perspective. It needs to offer data and insight that enhance readers’ knowledge and understanding.

By adapting to current technology while observing writing principles that will never age, we can provide content that achieves information gain with credence, precision and eloquence.

And that, in turn, can help elevate us to higher rankings, increasing engagement and, above all, growing audience faith.

Verbing: When Nouns Become Verbs

A fixed grammar lets us communicate with a clear, ordered structure we can all understand. Functioning as a GPS for directing our thoughts and ideas, it provides accurate markers and routes for moving our mind’s content into intelligible expressions.

While language is organized to unify understanding, it also can bend and flex to expand intentions of meaning, as well as adjust to the new ways we describe what is familiar.

One such bend and flex is verbing, the use of a noun as a verb. This exchange seems to be only increasing in modern American English, as in the following examples:

That channel now platforms McFarley’s opinions on growing red tomatoes.

I’m really glad that we met. Why don’t you friend me on Facebook?

If Masterson doesn’t readily know the answer, he should just Google it.

In each sentence, an established noun (platform, friend, Google) is conveying an action. Even the word verbing is an example of verbing:

Did they just say I should laptop my article notes? Are they really verbing that?

This tendency to convert speech parts follows natural language evolution. Verbing is a way of keeping English fresh, particularly among younger people. We are especially apt at verbing words that involve current technology and services:

They want to Zoom for the meeting.

Melissa told Adelina to YouTube the discussion.

I can’t talk now, but let’s FaceTime later!

My car’s in the shop. I say we Uber it tonight.

Verbing: It’s Nothing New

Verbing has been built into English for more than 1,000 years. Our modern use has simply made the practice increasingly inventive and obvious.

Signs of verbing appeared in Old English (app. 500–1100 A.D.). It also could be seen in Middle English (1100–1500), when, for example, the noun dark expanded into the verb to darken and the noun rain became a verb to describe the action, to rain.

By the era of William Shakespeare (late 1500s–early 1600s), verbing was thriving:

“Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncles.” — Richard II

“He words me.” — Hamlet

While some might argue that verbing lessens the distinction of English, we can’t escape that verbing is here to stay and will remain as long as its meanings are clear.

Some linguists estimate that more than 20% of English verbs originate from noun-to-verb conversion. Just a few words that began as strictly nouns before becoming well-understood verbs include access, bottle, debut, impact and pressure.

Verbing: More About Why

People turn nouns into verbs for different reasons, some of which we’ve already alluded to. We verbify nouns for:

efficiency and simplicity. Turning a noun into a verb can tighten expressions and make them more direct. Compare let’s iPad our notes with let’s make our notes in our iPads.

flexible expression. Verbing is one of the easiest ways to create new words through common use. Think of the presence of verbs such as Google, Zoom, and message in our daily lives.

adapting with culture and technology. As new tools, trends, apps, and platforms emerge, we can expect more verbing in the future. This is especially true of actions that become indistinct from their brands: “Venmo me,” “We should DoorDash dinner tonight.” 

greater creativity of expression. Verbing lets us be creative and playful with our everyday speech: “I’m done adulting for today,” “I think Lizette is going to ghost me,” “Jack and Jill said they’re going to Netflix and chill tonight.”

While verbing adds breadth and versatility to American English, we also want to be careful about context. Verbing is casual, colloquial usage that may not always be proper in formal communication. As with any other message we share, we should consider our audience.

Similarly, verbing often arises from cultural trends and references, many of which tend to fade as times change. Too much verbing can make new colloquialisms grating and stale and hasten their demise.

Verbing: Ways to Verb a Noun

Nouns have a few different means of morphing into verbs.

Direct Conversion (Zero Derivation): No change in spelling or form

email > I’ll email you the details.

chair > She chaired the meeting.

butter > Can you butter the bread?

Affixation: Adding verb suffixes such as -ize, -ify, or -en

apology  > apologize (He apologized for losing her Taylor Swift tickets.)

beauty > beautify (Sara beautified Stan’s originally garish outfit.)

strength > strengthen (The sales manager believes we can strengthen the numbers.)

Back-Formation: Removing suffixes from nouns

babysitter > babysit (Raj babysat the Abassis’ six greyhound dogs.)

editor > edit (Someone needs to edit Uri’s résumé.)

option > opt (Fans are now opting not to pay $18 for a beer at concerts.)

Functional Shift: Slight change of meaning from noun to verb

book > Have you booked the vacation cruise yet?

ship (vessel) > The delivery was supposed to have been shipped last week.

text > Please advise Enrique not to text about our plans to unload our company stock.

Metaphorical Extension: Shifting of nouns to verbs through figurative meaning

bridge > We need to bridge the gap between the quality of your guitar and mine.

shoulder > Hank shouldered the burden of having to weed the yard.

host > Chenda is hosting the neighborhood block party this year.

You’ll also often notice that simply adding the suffix -d or -ed will change many nouns into verbs: e.g. download > downloaded, paint > painted, task > tasked.